MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Mackinac Island officials and residents now have more power to regulate ferry service fares to and from the island.

The measure, signed into law Wednesday by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, gives the popular tourist destination a voice in regulating ferry prices and other travel-related fees. Both major ferry services, Arnold Transit Company and Shepler’s Mackinac Island Ferry, have been owned by Hoffman Marine since 2024.  Increases in ferry ticket prices along with raised fees for parking and bike transportation, triggered the discussion over Mackinac Island having oversight of the prices.

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Mackinac Island Mayor Margaret Doud pointed to the law as a win for everyone who travels to and from the island. “The City will now place the special charter amendment before the voters of Mackinac Island. I am confident that our community shares the values that drove this effort – fairness, accessibility, and the preservation of what makes this Island so special.”

Doud added, “Mackinac Island belongs to everyone.”

State Sen. John Damoose (R-Harbor Springs) and Rep. Parker Fairbairn (R-Harbor Springs) applauded the law as well. “In the Straits of Mackinac, the ferries are the roads,” Sen. Damoose said. “More than 80% of the island is state land, and the economies of northern Michigan and the eastern Upper Peninsula depend upon traffic to the island so we had no choice but to take action on behalf of all citizens when affordable access has been threatened by a single corporate entity.”

Fairbairn added that he and Damoose have worked for more than a year with community partners and stakeholders to address the ferry challenge. “Ultimately, it became clear that this was the only viable path to protect affordable and reliable access to one of Michigan’s most important tourism destinations.”